With the start of his farewell tour of the country, Army Chief Raheel Sharif confirmed he would become the first COAS in more than two decades to relinquish the office on time – in his case November 29. He had always maintained that he would depart this way but there had been intense speculation all around that things might turn out different. Sharif will leave as one of the country’s most popular army chiefs ever, both among the civilian population and within the military. Part of this has to do with the way he has prosecuted the war against militancy. His resolve in taking on the militant threat – in a way that his predecessors did not – contributed greatly to his popularity. He will be remembered by many Pakistanis for his services in crushing the internal threat that endangered the security of the country and the safety of its people. In other realms of military life General Sharif will also go down as a man always willing to visit the battlefield and raise the morale of soldiers caught in difficult situation. His personal efforts had an undoubted impact on the success of the drive against militants. His popularity would have been diminished had he sought an extension, as some politically expedient creatures wanted him to. As important as individual leadership is, it must always be in service of the institution. That is what Raheel Sharif, both in his role as army chief for the last three years and in his decision not to seek a second term, has done right by the institution. One reason former COAS Ashfaq Parvez Kayani lost a lot of support among the ranks after he took an extension was that it ended up delaying promotions for everyone else down the chain of command. That created resentment within the army’s ranks.
The incoming army chief – who is to be appointed from a list to be presented to the prime minister by the military – will face a number of challenges. Pakistan faces threats on both its eastern and western fronts. The challenge posed by India’s open aggression is especially disturbing. Beyond this, there has also been a sudden upsurge in militant activity since August, with 185 persons killed since then in militant attacks. As fractured as the TTP may be, it and its ideological fellow travellers have shown they still retain the ability to carry out devastating strikes. The rise of the Islamic State as a pan-global militant organisation which is beginning to gain a following in Pakistan may keep the military occupied for the foreseeable future. We still have tens of thousands of IDPs to resettle in Fata. Gen Raheel Sharif has got the ball rolling on some of these issues and they will need to be continued by his successor. The incoming chief will need to uphold the examples set by General Sharif and combat both the internal and external threats. He will replace an army chief who fully deserves all the salutes he is receiving as he visits military bases and headquarters to bid farewell. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/166655-The-farewell-tour
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